how long the dissertation should be?
Up till this point you must be familiar with “all you need to know about the dissertation”. The first question that arises in the mind of the students is “how long the dissertation should be?” just the thought of the extensive work can give the students goose-bumps. In the first glimpse it is mostly intimidating for students. But that is perfectly alright, the size justifies the reason behind the intimidation. As soon as you get into the work, believe me it’s not as much as you are estimating. Rather if it is carried out with proper guidance and following the step-wise instructions, it would be a manageable task.
Means that stop worrying you can turn the roller coaster
fearful ride into a pleasant journey. Now coming towards the main debate:
How long the dissertation should be?
So, there is no hard and fast rule to tell what should be
the length of the dissertation. There is no fixed size where you can fit your dissertation. It varies a lot with
the discipline you are enrolled and the extent of your research.
So what you can do with this situation?
The best answer you can find is the past dissertations of
your department. You may also consult your co-supervisor, supervisor or the
dissertation committee to seek a pattern of the dissertation. That will serve
as the apt reference.
When you seek the reference from the old dissertations,
specially focus on the dissertation approved or conducted under the supervisor
of your supervisor. This will not only give you the reference about the length
of each section but eventually it will give the idea regarding the general dissertation style.
So most you can produce out of it is that go to library’s dissertation section. Take 5 to 6
concerned dissertation samples and
write the word length of each section corresponding to the section name. after
viewing 5 to 6 samples you can calculate the average word length of each
section.
However, in the succeeding section of the article we will
have generic overview of the dissertation
length.
You might be thinking that why is it important to remain restricted within the word limit?
All sort of scholastic writings requires the writer to write
within the confined word limit given. This is necessary for quite a number of
reasons. Brevity and descriptiveness are the two must haves
of the academic writing and technical business writing. Students might wonder
to assure brevity in the writings without compromising the descriptiveness of
the content. They might confront problems in maintain the balance. This is a
skill, which can be acquired by practicing only. You can understand this by the
following analogy: if you want to increase the efficiency of the system then
you might have to reduce the weight of your system. Same is the case with the
writing, using a few words you can increase the efficiency and impact of your
writing.
Furthermore, it is necessary to follow the word limit if you
want to publish your dissertation in a conference. Publishing the dissertation
requires it to be in a particular format. This format depends upon the
conference you want to present your paper.
Initially when you will be asked to write the thesis with
15000 words or dissertation of approximately 8000 words, it will scare you and
you will surely think what will you write? But as soon as you will start
writing you will see the words will be consumed at a much faster pace.
The very first thing that you have to do is to section the
dissertation according to the given format. Sectioning will reduce your task
readily and will give you the crystal clear idea that in how many parts you are
going to break your dissertation.
As previously stated there is no rule of thumb for the word limit.

Following is the close approximation of how long your dissertation should be:
| section | Maximum page limit |
| Introduction | 15 |
| Methodology | 15 |
| Literature review | 25 |
| Result | 10 |
| Discussion | 20 |
The page limit is given, because it will give more vivid
idea regarding the work you have to do in each section. getting familiarized
with the word count helps in many ways. With the clear picture of limit, you
can keep a track on the scope of your work, it will save you from over working
on a particular section.
The page limit mentioned above is the general approximation
of maximum pages you can have for each section. so if you find them way more
than your content, then don’t lose the weight of your argument by dragging too
much. Because it is the game of proving your stance not just the mere filling
of the pages.
This is always a good approach to leave some room for
additional content. This can be achieved by setting the word limit a little
lesser than required, especially in the result and discussion section. the
limit often falls short when you discuss your findings and relate it to the
previous dissertations. So if you initially don’t leave some extra room in the
discussion section you will might end up confronting a mess. Then you may have
to compromise on writing some useful piece of information in the discussion
section or you may have to revert back and trim other sections to produce some
space. So stick to the Pro tip and
always leave room for addition of extra content. This is might probable that
you don’t find any need of addition, then filling up the space is far easier
than restructuring the whole dissertation.
In each section of our dissertation you will have to discuss some:
- Peripheral information
- Core information
Initially you won’t be able to understand, but after writing
the first draft of the dissertation you will also. reach to this result that
the key is to spend the words where it is essential. Don’t waste too much time
and words in discussing the peripheral information. Keep your focus on the core
topic. Assign the lines or word limit for the peripheral information or format
protocol of each section. focus more on the subject matter of your dissertation
and use words in a better way for proving your argument. For instance, the
dedication and acknowledgement section are the “format protocols”. Although,
these section won’t help you to acquire grades but they ought to include in the
dissertation. So keep a check on the words used in such sections.
Dissertations mostly require from the students to account
all the possible options available for carrying out the methodology or for
sampling the data, in addition to justifying their choice. So this is the major
thing to keep a check on. This section could be “word eater”. Manage this
section vigilantly. As you can’t skip any content because it might compromise
the credibility of your dissertation paper. So briefly describe all the
available methods for carrying out the research, for data acquisition and data
analysis. Write but discuss what you find more justified and significant.
Allocate more room for justifying your stance.
When students are writing their dissertation for the first time they might waffle a lot. Sections like the literature review want the students to be more critical and selective. So don’t bluntly write whatever you find. Critically analyze the literature review and discuss it critically. Be your own editor.
(Also in this section)
Dissertation Structure
Tips for Writing Dissertation Methodology
How to write dissertation bibliography
How to write a dissertation proposal?
Tips for creating the perfect dissertation title
How To Write A Dissertation
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